


According to plan

by Codeadleaf (Caeliindyvo)



Category: Tales of Zestiria
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-18
Updated: 2018-12-18
Packaged: 2019-09-22 11:30:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17058974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caeliindyvo/pseuds/Codeadleaf
Summary: "The bed was all warm and comfy, and for a moment he contemplated the idea to stay here a few more minutes before steeling himself. Now wasn’t the time to laze in bed. For today was the day he would impress Mikleo Luzrov."In which Sorey is a gay disaster.  Written for sormik advent calendar 2018, Prompt: mulled wine.





	According to plan

**Author's Note:**

> ...I suck very much at titles.  
> A big thanks to Owlily (toradh) for betareading <3

The first thing Sorey noticed when he opened his eyes was that he had forgotten to turn off the light string on the wall. The second was that his room was brighter than it should be for a winter morning. 

He turned to look at the window - of course he had also forgotten to close the shutters. The sky was clear, no traces of clouds or falling snow, but more importantly, the sun was higher than he expected it to be. His body jolted upright, hand searching for the phone lost somewhere on the bed - not under the pillows, not under his butt, not under the sheets, where on Earth- 

Thunk. 

Sorey looked down. There it was! He reached for the fallen device. 12:07 pm. A bit late but still enough time to get ready. He let out a relieved sigh as he fell back on his pillows. The bed was all warm and comfy, and for a moment he contemplated the idea to stay here a few more minutes before steeling himself. Now wasn’t the time to laze in bed. 

For today was the day he would impress Mikleo Luzrov.

Perfect Mikleo. Caring, intelligent, beautiful Mikleo. Sorey’s dear crush and rival, met through an endless battles for the highest grad on the ancient history classes. 

They had only known each other names back then, and if Sorey had been daydreaming about who could be Mikleo before meeting him, he was now completely smitten. How could it be otherwise? Mikleo was perfect. Smart. Pretty. And unlike Sorey he could achieve the best without sacrificing his health and hygiene. Not that Sorey was the kind to wallow in dirty laundry and strong body smells, he was just so passionate about his studies he would often forgot about basic needs, like cleaning or eating. Frankly, Sorey couldn’t understand why a sophisticated person like Mikleo would enjoy spending time with him, and yet only a couple of months after officially meeting thanks to their common friend Rose, there was hardly a day they wouldn’t see each other, Mikleo taking it upon himself to teach Sorey how to behave like a proper human being, helping with chores and feeding him when needed.

But not today, Sorey thought as he started gathering dirty clothes scattered on the floor. Mikleo and Rose would come in in a few hours to spend some “quality holiday time” - Rose’s words - and Sorey was determined to prove he wasn’t a complete disaster and could welcome his guests in a clean apartment. He took a quick shower, finished organizing what needed to be and concluded the cleaning session by opening all doors and windows to properly let air into the apartment - he certainly wasn’t about to relive the shameful moment Mikleo had first stepped into the garbage container that used to be this place. 

When everything was in order, Sorey moved to the kitchen. Now the real challenge began: the concoction of the Omega Elixir. Or rather, a modern version of it; being an history nerd would be of no help to gather ingredients such as a narwhal’s horn or some extinct bird species’ egg. The true Omega Elixir recipe, said to be a gift from the god Maotelus to purify mankind, was lost to time. Still, Sorey had found an old book with a few variant of the beverage in his Grandpa's library. With the celebration of Maotelus’ birth coming in a few days, it was the perfect drink for the holiday season and a perfect topic to debate with Mikleo later - only if Rose would allow it. 

Sorey set himself in front of the kitchen worktop, reading the recipe one last time. Everything was ready, he had macerated the ingredients in a large pot covered by a clean cloth, for three days and nights. The tricky part now was to progressively add the correct amount of alcohol at the right temperature, while slowly heating the pot. He hadn’t used the right utensils in his previous attempt, the result giving him a nasty headache. World tree leaves liqueur and Malak’s tear were too strong for his liking - and way too expensive, blessed was his Grandpa for being so fond of old alcohol bottles.

Sorey removed his hoodie to have better freedom of movement and threw it on a chair. A timer in one hand and a cooking thermometer in the other, he set to work, carefully measuring the proper dose of blue liqueur. It was the last of it, he couldn’t fail this one. 

And after two hours of meticulous mixing it was finally ready. And by Maotelus, the smell was divine. It was hard to define but it sure was a lot nicer than the strong odor that came out of his previous attempt - just smelling it had left him dizzy. 

Yes it was perfect, everything was going according to plan, Mikleo would be impressed and wouldn’t give him his trademark disapproval look. Sorey was smiling so much his cheeks hurt. The recipe’s final step was to let it rest in the snow. Sorey had prepared a bassin of ice cube in case the weather wouldn’t be cooperative but luckily it seemed to had snowed all night. 

He was on a little cloud. Tension had left his body but as he stepped into the hall he was hit by the cold, his nose tickling.

It all happened in the blink of an eye. Sorey abruptly turned his head to sneeze on his shoulder pressing the scalding pot between his arms. He yelped, reflexively releasing his hold on the pot, tried to grab it back, burned his hand, felt the heavy pot fall on his feet, and slipped. 

Lying on the ground with the wasted Elixir, not daring to move and tempt his cruel fate, a resigned Sorey wondered if he could make a new drink out of his own tears. 

***

“So.” Mikleo’s gaze swept through the kitchen, taking all details into account. The floor tile covered by some bluish liquid, the sink overflowing with dishes, the bandage on Sorey’s left hand. His friend truly had overdid himself today. “What happened in here?”

A disheveled Sorey - well, more disheveled than usual, if that was even possible - was looking away, all sheepish. A fit of sneezes was the only answer he gave. 

“Why is it so cold in here?” asked Mikleo, tightening his coat against himself before turning to the hall window. “Did you leave it open all day?”

Green eyes shot to the window. Sorey looked like he was about to slam his head on the wall. 

“The windows” he sighed, defeated. 

Mikleo bit the inside of his cheek to repress a smile. And just like that Sorey spilled it all. How he had tried his best to impress Mikleo, just to see his efforts crushed by a single sneeze, and how he had tried to get rid of the evidence before his friends’ arrival.

Mikleo had to admit he was indeed impressed.

“How are you still alive?” he jokingly pointed.

Sorey laughed that awkward, cute laugh of his, scratching the back of his head. Mikleo sighed, how could he win against this? Another sneeze made him roll his eyes. 

“Alright, you go close everything and sit next to the heater.” he ordered.

“But-”

“No but, you’ve done enough for today. I’ll take care of things now.”

“That wasn’t the plan,” whined Sorey.

“It is now.”

Mikleo pushed Sorey toward the living room, leaving no place for argument. He watched as Sorey did as he was told. 

“Where is Rose?” Sorey asked while turning the heater back on. 

“She dumped me on the way.” _With a slap on my back and too much snickering for it to be innocent_ , he added for himself. That was probably her way to say have a fun night, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, you have my full approval. That was usually what she said anytime he met Sorey for studying. “She said she had business to take care of.”

“What kind?”

“We’re talking about Rose, I can’t and don’t want to know the answer to this question.”

“Fair point.” 

Sorey reached for a blanket and wrapped it around himself, hiding another sneeze in it before crashing on the couch. Now that he was all settled, Mikleo could get to work. He turned to the kitchen, starting to unbutton his plaid coat. 

“Seduce me with your big history knowledge.” came Sorey’s voice in his back. 

Mikleo paused, throwing him a bewildered look.

“What?” 

Sorey blushed, letting go of the blanket to lift his hands in front of him in a defensive gesture. 

“That’s not me, it’s written on your back!”

Dread fell upon Mikleo. He promptly reached behind him, just where Rose’s hand had slapped him before parting ways. Sure enough he found the piece of paper stuck there. Now that explained why she was snickering so much, he thought, feeling his cheeks warming as he crushed the note in his hand. 

“I will be in the kitchen!” he exclaimed before storming out.

“O-okay.”

Damnit Rose, was embarrassing her friends so fun?

He took a deep breath to calm his nerves and grabbed the mop. There wasn’t much left to clean, Sorey had managed to wipe most of the elixir. Such a waste despite his best intentions, maybe they could try again later. For now the lingering smell was nice. 

Another sneeze rang out in the apartment. Sorey needed to be warmed up.

Rose’s laughter echoed in his ears. He shook his head trying to calm his heart. There was no way he would ever follow her instructions. Sorey was just a friend, a precious rival he had to take care of so they could keep the competition going. Nothing else. He hadn’t fallen for those shiny green eyes and warm smile. 

… Mikleo cleared his throat, finishing to mop the floor. 

Another sneeze. He should make Sorey some hot cocoa. He set the cleaning tools aside going for the fridge. No milk. But a few red wine bottles next to the fridge. Surely, a bit of wine wouldn’t hurt Sorey. Mikleo looked around, catching sight of oranges, and smiled. They wouldn’t be drinking elixir tonight, but they could still enjoy some good old mulled wine. He searched for what he needed in the cupboards, impressed to find everything - except for sugar, but honey would do just fine. 

He sliced an orange, washed one of the dirty saucepans lying in the sink and poured everything in it before placing it on the stove. Half an hour was all he needed to make a nice mulled wine. Sure not as fancy as Elixir but still fitting for the holidays. 

When he came back to the living room, warm mugs in hands, Sorey was pouting. Mikleo felt his heart doing weird things again.

“Is that your way to thank your guest?”

“It’s not fair.” Sorey falsely complained. “I was supposed to be the one taking care of this and impress you, not let you fix everything once again.”

Mikleo set the mugs on the coffee table, before sitting next to his friend. The temperature of the room had finally reached a comfortable level. “If it can comfort you, I had planned to bring homemade cookies.”

Sorey’s perked up.

“Where are they?”

“In a trash can.” deadpanned Mikleo.

“Uh.”

“They all burned.”

The growing smile on Sorey’s face was as infuriating as it was adorable. 

“So you’re not perfect in the end.”

“I’m still better than you.” Mikleo teased.

“Harsh.”

Sorey carefully took the mug with his good hand, sniffing the content before taking a sip. 

“That’s so good! I never had mulled wine before!”

“I’m glad this modest drink is to your liking.”

Sorey laughed, gently pushing Mikleo’s shoulder. Mikleo took a sip of his own drink. Not too bad for a last minute pull. If only baking could be that easy... 

“So now that we’re all settled and that Rose isn’t here,” Sorey trailed while standing. “I shall try to seduce you with my big history knowledge.”

Mikleo almost choked on his drink, cheeks burning. He couldn’t mean- surely Sorey wasn’t that kind of guy, was he? Or was the wine too strong for him?

A large book was set on the table in front of them, ending Mikleo’s internal panic. He huffed a discreet sigh of relief. No, Sorey was just a nerd. A lovely nerd even, when he wasn’t smelling of sweat, though Mikleo would die before admitting it out loud. 

Shoulder to shoulder, they leaned back onto the couch, careful not to spill any drop of mulled wine on the opened book.

**Author's Note:**

> Somewhere out there, Rose suddenly feels the urge to facepalm.


End file.
